Doomed to Fail
by WR63
Summary: All Heather wanted was to be a trainer. Her parents, however, disagreed. So, Heather ran away. Problem is, there's more to being a trainer than having a Pokémon.
1. Chapter 1

A young girl, about eleven, was walking through the woods. It appeared that she was looking for something, or perhaps, someone.

"Fang?" She called.

"Pooch?" She heard from behind her. Turning around, she saw a young poochyena blocking her way back, tail wagging and growling playfully.

"Fang!" She exclaimed, running up to the poochyena and hugging it.

"Pooch?" The Pokèmon asked again, sniffing the bag that the girl had draped over her shoulder.

"We're... running away. Fang, we have to leave." The girl said, sounding unsure of herself.

"Heather!" A woman's voice was heard faintly calling.

"Come on, we've got to go!" The girl, Heather said in a whisper. With that said, she picked up the poochyena, and started running. The poochyena, Fang, made a questioning sound, squirming to be put down.

"We have to go Fang, or else I'll never get to see you again. Mum said that I can't handle having a Pokémon. She said when I get older, she'd give me a Magikarp, to teach me _responsibility._ She said that wild Pokémon are too dangerous for me, and that she wasn't going to let me come into the woods anymore." Heather explained to her companion, moving along the familiar deerling trails through the wooded area. They were in Kanto, but this was a forest reserve that had been set up for Pokémon from all over the world. It reminded Heather of the books she had read about the safari zones. Her family had volunteered to help watch over the forest years ago, and Heather liked playing with all the Pokémon. It had never been a problem, until she stumbled upon a swarm of beedrill. Ever since then, her parents had tried to discourage her from going even near the forest.

Fang had been the first Pokémon she had met, and he was by far her favourite.

She finally put the poochyena down, and began to climb over the fence that separated the reserve from the normal forest, which was open to all trainers. With only a moment of hesitation, the bite Pokémon followed her, managing to jump over the fence in one leap. Not that the fence was really that y'all to begin with.

As Heather's feet touched the ground in the other side, her mother appeared from the forest edge, still yelling for her.

Heather took off running and did not look back. She didn't want to leave her mom. She loved her, but Heather couldn't stand the thought of never seeing Fang again. Looking down, she saw that her companion was right there beside her. She nodded to herself, they could do this.


	2. Chapter 2

After some searching, Heather had found the path that trainers usually took. She had decided that if she was going to have a Pokémon, she may as well become a proper trainer. Which meant battles against other trainers, and what better ol e than a route?

Apparently Fang liked the route. Every so often he would stop to sniff at something, or would chase after a leaf blowing in the breeze. It was surprisingly peaceful in this part of the forest. Far above, pidgey could be heard flitting about in the trees, and Heather even saw a few caterpie crawling along branches. If traveling was always like this, it wouldn't be so bad. Checking her watch, Heather noted the time. About time for lunch. She should have ate before she left, but it was too late now.

Without further ado, Heather sat down along the side of the path, pulling her bag off her shoulder. She had packed enough food for a week, so they should be alright. Fang didn't even have to be called, he probably smelled the food. It made it a bit hard to put in a bowl with his nose in the way, but Heather didn't mind. Soon enough they both had their meals. Assorted berries for her friend, and a couple sandwiches for herself.

After they had ate, they set off once more. The problem was, Heather didn't exactly know where they were off to. She knew that she was following the path, but she had not thought to pack a map before she left, or really look at one, so she had no idea where this route led...

Not much more time had passed when the duo stumbled upon their first battle in the form of a young trainer. Heather had been running after Fang, who was running after a leaf. They had turned a corner and there he was. A kid that looked younger than her with a net and a Pokéball. He had asked them for a battle to test the strength of his Pokémon, which turned out to be a Butterfree. Heather had readily agreed, and Fang seemed enthusiastic as well. Then the battle started. It was at this moment that Heather realized she had no clue what moves Fang actually knew. Or how to properly have a Pokémon battle. The other trainer didn't seem to notice her hesitation, because he had none. Before she knew what was happening, his Butterfree was attacking Fang with a shadow ball. Heather didn't even know that Pokémon could learn that move! In her shock, she didn't give any command to Fang, who took the hit directly, sending up a cloud of dust. Heather gasped, there was no way her friend was still standing after that hit. It had looked so strong... Yet, when the dust settled, there he was. He had endured the hit, but another like that and he would be out. The other trainer saw this too, and ordered their Pokémon to use another shadow ball. This time, Heather reacted, yelling at Fang to get out of there.

The attack barely missed, and Fang stumbled when he landed, looking very unsteady on his paws. Without knowing what else to do, Heather told Fang to attack, not actually saying what attack to use. He jumped towards the butterfly Pokémon, and his fangs glowed purple as he bit into it. The other trainer ordered another shadow ball, and Heather told Fang not to let go. As it was, the bite Pokémon was right on top of the Butterfree, making him impossible to hit. The bug tried to shake him off, fluttering erratically, swooping and spinning, but Fang didn't let go. Little by little, the Butterfree's movements become slower and slower until it dropped out of the air, Fang falling with it. They hit the ground with a thud, finally knocking Fang off. By that time though, it was too late. By sheer dumb luck and determination, they had won the battle. Fang walked over to Heather slowly, clearly worn out and sore, but tail wagging nonetheless. She reached into her bag, grabbing an Oran berry for him, which he happily ate, his tail speed increasing. She was petting him when the other trainer came over, offering her a handshake. She stood up as she took it. He seemed to be trying to hide the fact that he was upset at his loss as he congratulated her. Heather in turn congratulated him, admitting that her victory had pretty much been dumb luck, and commented that she hadn't known that Butterfree could learn Shadow ball. That seemed to cheer him up a little, and he explained to her about Technical Machines, or TMs for short. The information was a bit overwhelming, but Heather took it in stride, nodding along, and writing down what he told her in a sketchbook she had brought. When they parted ways, he seemed happier than he had been at the end of the battle. Moving on, Heather decided that she would need to get a Pokédex. She didn't know everything about them, but she knew they could tell you what moves a Pokémon had, and that they had information on certain Pokémon. As it was, Heather had gone in that battle completely blind, and it had only been a stroke of luck that she had come out victorious. As she thought about the battle and what she could have done different, the time continued to pass. Soon the sky was darkening. It was at this point that Heather realized she had forgotten some very important things. Things like a flashlight, or even a match. She had no light source, and night was fast approaching. How far was it to the Pokémon center?

Heather really wished she had brought a map. Debating a little longer, Heather eventually decided to settle down for the night. She took out the blanket she had packed and sat down between the roots of a large tree. At least it wasn't cold. As she wrapped the blanket around herself, she found that she was missing her mother already... but she wouldn't go back! This was her adventure! She smiled as Fang settled down in her lap. She was a Pokémon trainer, and she had her Pokémon to protect her.


End file.
